Objective Truth, Subjective Wisdom
by Seoinage
Summary: Soul Society, Earth, and Hell. Who would dare mess with the balance? Spoilers: Up through manga chapter 170 and anime episode 22. AU. ABANDONED.
1. Dyeing in Indigo

**Title:** Objective Truth, Subjective Wisdom  
**Author**: Seoinage  
**Series**: Bleach  
**Genre**: Drama / Angst / Psychological  
**Rating**: PG-13

**Spoilers:** Up through manga chapter178 and anime episode 40.

**Summary**: Soul Society, Earth, and Hell. Who would dare mess with the balance?

**Disclaimer:**Bleach © Kubo Taite and the various companies who has rights to it.

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Chapter: 1: Dyeing in Indigo **_

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The exact moment I came to be in this existence of recycled souls and balancers shall forever be etched onto me. It marked the day truth opened not my eyes, but blinded me. For I had been cast from nirvana and the side of the one I served into the quagmire of Soul Society.

_'Serve them and you will serve me. There is no wall, no separation between you and I. Love as you have always done so. Enlighten as you have always done so. Guard as you have always done so. You are my objective truth, and they have need of you.' said the Master._

So in love, truth, and obedience I gave no argument and bowed my head, accepting of all things asked of me. For that was The Way.

I came to be on this plane of limbo, assigned a duty I had performed before on the plane of earth. It should be no different, though I prepared myself in case that was not so. Humanity was like that.

At the tug on my sleeve I looked down to see the soul of a boy tilting his face curiously up at me. He was young, this one.

I smiled, even though his eye could not see, and asked, "What can I do for you?"

The lad tilted his head back further at the sound of my voice, new and strange to him. Dirt edged his worn kimono and smudged his naturally dark skin. "Mister, are you new here?"

Finding myself towering over him, I knelt down to his level and nodded solemnly. "I just arrived and don't know my way. Could I bother you to help me?"

White eyes considered my own toffee colored ones for a blind moment. Then a small hand slipped into mine. "Sure!"

For awhile I resided with the boy, learning about the place I had been sent to. By listening and exploring, I found out that we were in the outskirts known as Rukongai. Not surprising to me, it served as a holding place for all souls with the ability to undergo a new cycle of life on earth. Most souls did just that, slipping through life and death countless times over, never attaining enlightenment to break the cycle.

It must be said that very few souls attained enlightenment.

Extensive in size to accommodate all the souls waiting for their next cycle, Rukongai was further subdivided into districts of varying degrees. If one walked through the outskirts trying to find an end, only failure would meet them. Circles have no end, after all, trapping all in.

In the middle of the circular outskirts laid the inner city, a walled off place stuck on human principals of order, control, laws, desires, needs, wants… You could say that they were just stuck, but could not see that fact. It served a purpose, however, being the command center of Soul Society.

Those with the requisite spiritual power and ability to harness it could become shinigami, the balancers of life and death. They trained and existed in their citadel, for a time breaking the seemingly endless cycle of humanity.

Even in Soul Society where death is the state of being for all, I recognized that human emotions, fears, and desires hold sway. Even in death, hierarchies prevailed, violence occurred, and hunger still known. Human souls brought suffering along with them through death and distorted this existence from what it had been.

My Master sent me and I knew what I needed to do, which route to take.

Having found the silver and dark parts of my framework in Rukongai, I entered the shinigami academy to undergo training for my new role. Not before long, a white robe of rank settled around my shoulders, a division calling me their captain.

"Aizen-taichou, it's time to find a suitable vice captain for the Fifth Division."

"Yes," I agreed pleasantly. Yes, the time drew near for the finishing of the framework.

The path of salvation cannot be seen from the bottom or the top, for looking from those positions will only yield an unbroken circle with no beginning and no end. However, to view the path from any of its circular sides would reveal its shape as that of a spiral to lift man up into enlightenment.

If one with no desire for the path were to look upwards from the bottom, the circle will appear. Earth represented the bottom.

If one who thought the path conquered looked downwards from the top, the circle will appear. Soul Society represented the top.

Few understand that it was from the sides, not the bottom or the top, that man needed to look from to gain enlightenment. Should they seek the path seriously and step to the side, the spiral will appear before them.

My duty was to reveal the spiral path. My goal was to change emotions such as love into the pure desire to seek enlightenment. My oath was to share the objective truth that nirvana was not another realm but the true reality of the world of birth and death.

Things needed to be changed.

"Show me the listing of candidates for the vice captain position." I ordered and readjusted the glasses perched on my nose as the piece of paper was quickly handed over.

Over time, I have seen much with these eyes. Inversely however, the more I witnessed, the weaker my vision got while in this plane of existence. Somewhere along the way, glasses became a part of the persona that dyed me in indigo.

"Taichou, as you see, the first choice is Ichimaru Gin…"

I smiled. One part of the framework laid already proved strong.

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A/N: The kanji used for "aizen" means indigo dye. Indigo can mean "dark blue" or can refer to the natural plant that can be made into a dye used to color cloth into that specific color of blue. Indigo, if undiluted, does not absorb very easily into the strands of a fabric. Thus indigo is normally diluted, but that forces the dyeing process to be repeated until the color is dark enough to be called 'indigo'. One must be very patient to get the color of indigo. 


	2. Dying in Love

Author notes are at the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

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Chapter 2: Dying in Love

Love was an emotion that bound humans to the endless cycle. Love for one's self, love for another, love for material wealth, love for violence, love for fame, love for corruption, and love for power…the list seemed endless itself. However, people never seemed to realize that the desire for enlightenment, not love, was salvation.

Pityingly, those in power here in Soul Society recognized nothing but the love of status quo.

"Gin, how long have you been my vice-captain?"

"Aizen-taichou, you must be teasing me. You've already forgotten?" Smiling eyes were half-closed, but respectful all the same.

"It is time, Gin."

"Time for…?" An inquiring tone lit his voice.

"Assume a captain seat." I commanded.

Understanding set in and no hesitation occurred before the response of "Yes, Aizen-taichou" reached my ears.

I looked away, satisfied. The pieces were moving as they should.

The balance between Soul Society, earth, and Hell defined existence for most beings. Should the balance be disrupted, existence may also be disrupted. However, a disruption may also work in my favor. For that end I strove forward, collecting those who were needed along the way, plans laid out so far out that they disappeared, like two fugitives in the night.

When I met the quiet and solemn shinigami slated as the Fourth Division captain, I knew her for who she was; the subjective wisdom to my objective truth. By our eyes alone an entire dialog occurred and understanding passed. I would have her help when it was needed, for she too was sent like I had been.

Replacement of my empty vice-captain seat proved to be easy. Hinamori Momo, a gentle soul, was the obvious choice. Her loyalty and ties to the up-and-coming young genius would surely be beneficial. With this thought in mind, it was decided.

Time passing had no meaning to me in the human sense and so I waited till the perfect moment came to hand.

It came in the form of Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo.

Staging my death with the help of Unohana turned out simpler than I'd thought. It also gave me time to take care of loose ends.

Manipulative would be a word used by those to describe me if they saw below the layer of smiling indigo and the warm layer of love. However, it wasn't manipulation that I had engaged in, only the transmutation of unsightly things into true desire.

Underneath the indigo and love, one saw only objective truth staring back out at them.

That was the last thing seen by the Government Council. It was the last thing to embrace the fallen Hinamori.

Wiping my blade clean, I turned to leave the room in a flurry of white.

"Let's go, Gin."

"Yes, Aizen-taichou."

_Blue from the indigo plant is deeper than its origin._

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A/N: More Buddhist ramblings.

Taking Aizen's name, I came across two meanings:

1. Indigo Dye (literal meaning). "Blue from the indigo plant is deeper than its origin" can be understood as "The student can be greater than the master".

2. Aizen (Aizen Myo-o) is also the name of one of the 8 Buddhist deities that guard and serve the Bodhisattvas. Aizen Myo-o believes that human love can be converted into spiritual enlightenment. Another name for Aizen Myo-o is Ragajara, the wisdom king named Craving-Filled. It is said that this deity purifies earthly desires and frees people from the illusions and sufferings caused by earthly desires. The wisdom kings, a group of deities, are said to destroy all obstacles.

3. Aizen Myo-o represents the doctrine that "samsara is nirvana" (shoji soku nehan). It means that nirvana is not another realm but the true reality of the world of birth and death.

4. I made Unohana be the shinigami version of Fudo Myo-o, one of the 5 Buddhist deities that guard and serve the Buddhas (in a different group from Aizen-myoo). Fudo-myoo is said to convert anger into salvation and carries a "kurikara" or devil-subduing sword in right hand (which also represents wisdom to cut through ignorance) and holds rope in left hand (to catch and bind up demons). Unohana's zanpakutou sorta fits these, huh? Also, Fudo Myo-o is often represented standing or sitting on a rock, as Fudo ("Faith") is unmovable. Unohana can stand or sit on top of the bankai form of her sword.

5. Fudo Myo-o represents the principle that "the defilements are bodhi" (bonno soku bodai). It means that bodhi, or enlightenment, is not the eradication of the defilements, but their liberation and transmutation into the wholesome energy of the enlightened mind.

6. Aizen Myo-o and Fudo Myo-o are sometimes identified with the Ni-o, the Two Deva Kings, who are a dual form of Dainichi Nyorai, who is a personification of the universal body of Buddha. Therefore, Aizen Myo-o represents objective truth while Fudo Myo-o represents subjective wisdom.

What it all boils down to is that Aizen is transmuting existence so that they can attain enlightenment. Hah...I know my brain's been fried by writing this.


End file.
